After I wrote my post yesterday things began to improve at Camping Apalkalns in a rather unexpected way. At about 7pm four Latvian cars arrived on site, one Mercedes crossing the campsite grass at about 50 Mph! They pitched five small tents next to the lake. The appearance of “young people” including children, intent on having fun probably alarmed the elderly Swiss couple who had parked blocking our view of the lake and they beat a hasty retreat, together with another German van, leaving us with a great view of the lake again. As it turns out the large group of Latvians have been the model of decorum: fishing, swimming in the lake and generally having fun.
Also yesterday evening Sarah discovered the site had boats for hire and so we decided that instead of going for a forest walk in the morning we would take a boat out on the lake.
So after a lazy start and a late breakfast we hired a rowing boat. I spent a lot of time messing about in boats as a child, but it’s a long time since either of has been in a small boat. Getting in proved to be the most difficult part of the venture with us both so unsteady the boat threatened to capsize before we had even started. Both Melek and Mabel were reluctant to join their obviously incompetent masters and Basil was never going to fit.
The Great Helmsman (wasn’t that Mao’s title?)
I soon remembered my rowing method and we scooted about the lake under my expert helsmanship. At times we just let the boat drift as we relaxed in the lovely Latvian sunshine. We then undertook a boat threatening change of helmsman mid lake and Sarah had a go. Her rowing was not bad. I am under strict instructions not to say she went round in circles, which isn’t a problem because that didn’t happen. Sarah’s slight problem was that her left hand arm seemed to pull more strongly than her right, with the result that she was constantly having to correct course. The dogs just went to sleep in the bottom of the boat.
The very definition of a life in the slow lane
Sarah managed to weave her way down to the far end of the lake, about 2 km from camp. We then swapped for the final time for the row back. What we hadn’t realised was that we had a strong wind behind us going down the lake and now I was rowing against a stiff breeze and choppy waves. I remembered some of my boat craft and rowed in towards the lee shore where the forest of pines blocked most of the wind. We then made decent progress and just made the two hour deadline.
Sarah enjoying the ride
While we sat having lunch I could hear that a new group of four, who had moved into a cabin near to us, were speaking English. One of them with no foreign accent. I said hello, and it turned out to be a Latvian and Portugese couple with their Latvian friends. The Latvian man spoke English so well he would pass for English, no accent that I could discern. He has worked as an engineer in Basildon, England for 12 years and his Portuguese partner likewise works in Basildon. English was the only common language between the four of them.
After lunch we had a wander into the local village to buy some bread, where we had a choice of dark rye, dark rye or, you guessed it, dark rye. Dark rye it was. On our return the site the owner explained what Sarah had already gleaned from Google, that 23rd June is a holiday in Latvia where they celebrate midsummer. They must have had an errant astronomer when this date was set because 21st June is the actual longest day in the entire northern hemisphere.
Whatever the reason, the campsite is now packed and we are told that there will be many fires lit, including a big one in the local village. The owner said there would be some live music on the site, but all we’ve got at the moment is europop blasting from our new Latvian neighbours!
We’ll see how things develop. If nothing much of a communal nature happens we will go to bed as normal, but if it all kicks off we may be getting up much later than usual tomorrow!